At first she didn’t know that she had been reincarnated as a character from a novel.

She remembered her past life. She was a college student who had been on her way home from the library, and was hit by a car when crossing the road.

And..she became someone else when she woke up.

It wasn’t to horrible at the start.

Her mother and father were very kind people.

Realizing that she had passed away and would have to live another life was devastating, but she quickly came to terms with it. What else could she do? There was no going back now.

Her new mother was a lovely women, with hair that glimmered gold in the sun, and warm brown eyes. She resembled a princess from a fairytale.

She had the same golden blonde hair, with red, ruby like eyes.

Her mother sat in a rocking chair, gently stroking her stomach.

“Mother, how long until I meet my little sister,” Nora said, scrunching her nose.

Her mother laughed gently, “How do you know it’s a girl?”

“It has to be! I can feel it!.” She shouted.

“Well then, you’ll have to take care of her when she’s born.”

A knock from the door interrupted.

“I’ll get it,” her father said.

He opened the door and her mother paled, standing up and shielding Nora. A tall man stood at the door.

The tall man drew a curved blade from beneath his black cloak. A sword. The man plunged the sword into her fathers stomach, pushing it upward. Her father fell to the floor. A large puddle of blood was forming on the floor.

Her mother screamed. She screamed. The man was the only one not screaming.

“Come here,” he said, looking directly at Nora.

“Y-you monster,” her mother shouted, moving toward the kitchen. “He’s dead!”

“Do not run from me,” the man told her.

“Not after what you’ve done. If you run again, I swear I—”

But she did run. She was almost around the corner when his blade struck her in the back. She crumpled to the floor, falling arms knocking a chair from the table down.

The smell of fresh blood was heavy in the air, like wet, hot metal.

Nora ran at the man, slamming her fists against his chest, kicking at his legs. She wasn’t even scared. She wasn’t sure she felt anything at all.

The man paid Nora no mind. For a long moment, he just stood there, as though he couldn’t quite believe what he’d done. As though he wished he could take back the last five minutes. Then he sank to one knee and caught hold of Nora’s shoulders. He pinned her arms to her sides so she couldn’t hit him anymore.

“You were stolen from me,” he told her. “I have come to take you to your true home.”

“No,” Nora told him in her somber little voice. “I’m never going anywhere with you.”

“I’m your father,” he told her, his voice harsh, rising like the crack of a lash. “You are my blood, and you will obey me in this as in all things.”

She didn’t move, but her jaw set.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“You’re not my father,” She shouted at the man. Even though he and Nora had the same eyes, she wouldn’t let herself believe it.

His grip tightened on her shoulders, and she made a little squeezed, squeaking sound, but she stared up defiantly.

“I hate you,” Nora proclaimed to the tall man with a vicious face. “I will always hate you. I vow it.”

The man’s stony expression didn’t change.

“Nonetheless, you are a Verlice. You will come back with me.”

When she heard that her last name was Verlice she felt dread.

Verlice…

The name seemed familiar.

Verlice. That name stayed in her mind. Her father had red eyes, and black hair….with the last name Verlice.

She was in a terrible situation if it was the same Verlice family that she had read about. Reincarnating into a fantasy world out of a novel was insane. But what was she supposed to do?

Turns out she did have a little sister as she had wished, and three brothers.

Polygamy was accepted in this world. Her father, The Duke, had five children, including her.

One son was from his first wife. The second wife, her mother, had given birth to her. The third wife had given birth to twins, and the fourth wife had both given birth to a son.

The Verlice family was unique. They were equivalent to a mafia family of earth, criminals that stole, scammed, threatened, and organized mercenaries for hire. They traded drugs and poisons in the black market. Killing was not beneath them.

The scale of the Verlice operations did not go unnoticed by the rest of the kingdom, yet they met minimal opposition. She was astounded that they still presented themselves as a legitimate noble family.

All children bearing the name Verlice were forced to lead this immoral lifestyle and received early instruction in it.

She had trouble accepting the values of her new family as a modern citizen. Rote memorization was easy for her, but when it came to using weapons, consuming drugs and poisons to understand their effects or develp her immunity, learning how to approach people confidently or by stealth… she often struggled when she practiced those skills and did not like any of the subjects.

You don’t succeed in life without hard-work, she would tell herself.

Her father had appeared before her again, on her tenth birthday.

Her father, Arthur Verlice.

He had taken in a fifth wife since she had been brought to the estate. Who was expecting. He wouldn’t have had time to take care of them, even if he was a good parent.

According to him, only children who were valuable to the family should receive his attention. All other members of the family were neglected. She had only seen him twice in her entire life, including the meeting now.

He said to her, “From the start I did not think you were a capable child,” her father continued, “but I’ve had a change of heart. It is time I specialize your education.”

He begun to speak in detail about his expectations.

The art of seduction.

She thought he was a crazy bastard. Though she could see why. She had inherited her mothers looks. She couldn’t believe he was saying such things to a ten year old, but she kept that thought off her face.

Her family was revolting. In the end, she needed to know how to seduce a man in order to kill him or discover his secrets. She had to learn beautifying herself for a guy’s attention, learn how to please a man at night, and learn the value of ambiance and conversation for foreplay when she was a young girl.

It was unthinkable to defy the patriarchal dictates of her father during this time of feudalism. Even though it was wrong and horrible, she eventually conceded that she couldn’t defy his wishes.

Her heart, however, didn’t seem to agree with the principles her teachers had taught her. She worked hard and took her time to learn.

When she was eleven the third wife’s son, her half-brother was killed.

The scream of his mother echoed in her ears. She crouched, unable to move from around the corner in the hallway.

“Finn! My Finn!”

She trembled as though someone had doused her in cold water.

Her mind wandered back to her mother and father.

She quickly fled.

When she asked one of the maids they had said that Finn did not meet expectations. His execution was for being a disappointment, and a waste of space. It was for their best interests.

She knew her family was strange, and unsettling, but to this extent….

She was in shock. Finn had been discarded, and she would be next if she continued to be incompetent. Goosebumps broke out on her skin.

Only capable people were allowed to reside in her father’s territory. She had put more effort into her studies then ever before. She did not question her curriculum anymore.

Her primary topic had been seduction since she was ten, but also continued her precious studies. Her understanding of different weapons, botany for poisons and remedies, psychology and, her debating skills had increased.

Overtime she had learned that her deranged and evil family had a custom. Every month, her father would invite his children, those who had excelled to a family meal. Naturally she had never received an invitation to a family dinner.

Since Finns death, another child had been discarded. His sister. She had made an attempt with her mother to leave the estate because she thought she was going to be next. In the end they were killed in the most brutal way. They were both tortured and maimed before being set on fire.

She had frequently questioned the world’s sanity.

When she was twelve years old, she was invited to one of her fathers dinners for the first time

She had suspicions before, but, she was now certain, she was a character in the novel who had died young, because she had never heard of a girl named Elenora Verlice.